Enablers and barriers to effective parenting within the first 1000 days of life

Abstract

Background The first 1000 days is the period between conception and a child’s second birthday. Globally, research on parenting is in an advanced stage, but parenting research focusing specifically on parenting in this developmental phase is limited in South Africa. Therefore, this study explores the enablers and barriers to effective parenting within the first 1000 days through the lens of parents and caregivers in low socio-economic communities. Methods This study was conducted in low socio-economic communities of South Africa. An exploratory qualitative research design explored the enablers and barriers to effective parenting within the first 1000 days of life. Thirty participants were purposively selected and interviewed in this study. A semi-structured interview schedule was used for all interviews. The data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Results Two main categories emerged (effective parenting enablers and effective parenting barriers) during the data analysis. The main enablers of effective parenting within the first 1000 days of life include a support system, healthy behaviours/environment, job opportunities, religion, information/knowledge, and professional assistance. On the other hand, the main barriers to effective parenting were low socio-economic circumstances, environmental circumstances, lack of partner’s support, the negative impact of technology, and lack of access to services. Conclusions Enablers that need to be promoted for effective parenting range from support systems to professional assistance for parents. Also, barriers that need to be removed for effective parenting range from low socio-economic circumstances to a lack of partner’s support for parents. This is because effective parenting is vital in improving developmental outcomes for children within the first 1000 days of life. Therefore, there is a need to develop policies and interventions to promote effective parenting within the first 1000 days in the communities. Key messages • Effective parenting is vital in improving developmental outcomes for children within the first 1000 days of life. • There is a need to develop policies and interventions to promote effective parenting within the first 1000 days in low socio-economic communities.

Caregiver perspectives of risk and protective factors influencing early childhood development in low‐income, urban settings: A social ecological perspective

“…Caregivers also seemed to place value on development and early learning, which is something that should be capitalised on in future intervention efforts. These findings are similar to another South African study with parents of younger children in a low-income setting, who acknowledged the importance of their role in their child's development and the need for children need to thrive in the early years of life (Adebiyi et al, 2021). A study with parents of preschool children in Ghana also had similar findings (Wolf, 2020).…”

Expectant mothers and fathers' knowledge of nurturing care in a developing country

“…These findings highlight the need for early prevention interventions that can be addressed with the NCF to help offset the negative effects of maternal depression on child development in this at-risk population. A qualitative study conducted in low socioeconomic communities of South Africa (19) investigated the facilitators and challengers of effective caregiving in the first 1,000 days through the lens of 30 parents or caregivers. While the facilitators that should be encouraged for effective caregiving were found to range from support systems to professional help for parents, challenging factors were low socioeconomic conditions, and the lack of support from the father to the mother.…”

“…Although the Nurturing Care Framework (NCF), in which not only development but also all the components affecting development are addressed together, and the contributions of this framework to early childhood development (ECD) have come to the fore recently, there is a gap in knowledge regarding the characteristics of the caregiver that contribute to optimal development from pregnancy to birth (7). In the literature there are many international studies (8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16) and national studies (17, 18) aiming to learn especially mothers' level of knowledge about ECD, however, the research investigating expectant parents' level of knowledge on this subject during pregnancy is limited (19). Thus, this study aimed to determine the knowledge level and awareness of expectant mothers and fathers about NC during pregnancy and to examine their knowledge and awareness in terms of different variables.…”